The aircraft of WWII are the subject of endless discussion, and I just lost a full page ot such a discussion.

So being duly frustrated I am going to put forth (again as a start) the 100% Plywood, 415 Mph De Haviland mosquito as the most effective fighter/bomber of the european theater.

It was Multi role, it was fast, its bomb load was equivalent to a long range configured B-17, ie: about 6000 lbs

We'll talk about the B-17 later.

I am going to post this and try to find some pics.

The mosquito was referred to as the termites dream, among other epithets, but it had the lowest loss rate in its bomber configuration of any bomber used in the European theater and perhaps in all theaters. It served in all theaters, including the CBI, to the best of my knowledge.

I hope my postings are remembered for my efforts to place real photos in the thread instead of links. Of course I can't always do that but I will try.

Also, to the best of my knowledge, it was powered by 2 Rolls Royce Merlin engine, the same as Powereed the P-51 and, I think the Avro Lancaster (X4)
jt